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Carol sighed, turning to him. “No, Brett, you are perfect. Too perfect.”
She could see the confusion in Brett’s eyes as she said those words, unable to explain to him why she couldn’t stay. “See you tomorrow,” Carol murmured before opening the door and walking away from the man whom she might be falling for.
7
The next fewdays went by so fast she didn’t even have any time to think about the kisses she shared with Brett. Carol was in warp speed with the fundraiser, staying out of Brett’s way during his normal business hours as much as possible so that he didn’t lose any money while she was concurrently decorating and preparing the garage for the event.
When the day finally came, she knew it was going to be incredible. Brett closed the shop for the first time in years, letting her put finishing touches around the garage to make it presentable. Carol hid the uncleanable tools and set up the silent auction tables and items, parking Brett’s beautiful classic car in the middle as a centerpiece of conversation before the doors were opened to the public.
Brett’s branding was everywhere, the list of services available for all to see with an added emphasis on restoring and remodeling classic cars, something that she learned Brett had a passion for but had never been able to promote correctly. She was sure that this party would be a time for him to get the word out.
As Carol expected, everyone in the neighborhood came to support him. She sent invitations out to the neighborhood association and other larger businesses in the area as well. So many corporate people came to see what the fuss was about, too.
She spent most of the evening working, flitting from one side of the room to the other, making sure that Marlene’s food was constantly replenished while simultaneously monitoring the silent auction. She was surprised she didn’t have to ghost bid on anything, as each and every item was valued enough that people invested their time during the party to check the bids.
By the end of the night, Brett raised over a hundred thousand dollars and gained at least twenty new clients—some people who wanted a more personalized auto shop to go to and a few others who had classic cars. She had to admit, his car did a lot of work sitting there looking pretty for all the people who came. Carol even overheard a few businessmen trying to buy his prized possession, but Brett let them down easily. No one was going to buy his car from him, no matter their price.
After Brett’s short thank you speech to the crowd, the party started to die down, and the crowd turned into only a few stragglers. Andrew came over to find her.
“This was absolutely incredible, Carol,” he gushed, pulling her into a side hug and squeezing her shoulder in thanks. “You have definitely done amazing work. I just don’t understand how you got all of this together in such little time.”
She shrugged, smiling at him. “All in a day’s work, Andrew. It was easy. The shop just needed a little love and it sells itself.”
Andrew nodded, watching her as if he saw something in her that Carol didn’t. “Well, thank you so much. This means a lot to us, a lot to Brett.”
Carol nodded, her eyes drawn to the man across the room who was still engaged in conversation with a man in a suit—she hoped he was gaining yet another client. “I just did what I could.”
The cleanup went quickly, as most of the food was gone and everyone had taken their silent auction items. Andrew took Lacy home to put her to bed, the little girl falling asleep in his arms as he carried her out the door. Soon enough, it was just Carol and Brett left in the shop, the air around her heavy with emotion.
She was folding tablecloths, planning on leaving them somewhere for Brett to use in the future, when his hand on her arm made Carol freeze.
“Carol, I can’t thank you enough,” he started as she turned toward him. He was so close to her that she could feel his warmth, making her want to lean into him. “Would you join me for a drive? I have something I want to show you.”
She nodded, grabbing her jacket and getting into his car, staying quiet as he pulled away. He pointed the car toward the city, the drive easy on the late night. It reminded her slightly of that night a couple weeks ago when she’d been driving home…
There was a feeling in her gut, a feeling that she was finished with her task. It was a feeling that seemed to pull her somewhere, but Carol wasn’t sure what to do about it.
She must have zoned out because the next thing she knew, Brett was parking on the north side of Central Park. He fed the meter quickly before grabbing her hand, her heart jumping at the contact. Brett led Carol to the line of horse-drawn sleighs, paying quickly before helping her up into one of them.
There were heavy, warm blankets drawn across their laps and she let Brett pull her into his body, his arm tight around her shoulders. Carol’s heart beat rapidly at the closeness, a yearning in her that made her want to just stay in his arms forever. For a while, the two of them sat quietly, enjoying the views of the park during Christmas and each other’s presence. Once they’d been riding for about ten minutes, Brett spoke.
“I’m going to have to bring Lacy back to do this again; it’s a bit of a holiday tradition for us,” Brett commented, looking down at her. Their faces were close, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath. “I just thought it would be nice to have a ride with you for a bit, too. A thank you, if you will.”
She nodded, unable to speak, especially once Brett’s lips covered hers. The kiss was just as incredible as the first one that they’d shared in his living room, this one also filled with gratitude. Brett’s hands cupped her face, keeping Carol close to him.
She let him kiss her, unwilling to stop him. This felt right; this was everything she could ever want. Carol didn’t want to leave soon, so she tried to ignore the pull in her belly that told her that she couldn’t stay.
Finally, Brett released her, pulling Carol impossibly closer to him underneath the blanket. He fished his phone from his pocket. “Lacy and I were in the city not too long ago, during the first snow of the year. She was so excited, she nearly fell over in the street as she spun around in circles…”
Brett showed her a picture on his phone, a picture of the little girl in the red coat, snow-white scarf spinning around her. A picture of Lacy, who she had seen on the street the night of her accident. She gasped, wondering how her life had ended up here.
“What’s wrong?” Brett asked, worried at her reaction. Carol shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. She looked out of the sleigh and into the park, her eyes widening again.
The man in the trench coat, Wade,Lacy’s dad, was standing there in the park, watching her patiently with his hands in his pockets.
Carol sat up, pulling away from Brett. This was it, this was her sign. She couldn’t let Brett know what was going on—if she even began to tell him, he’d think she was crazy. She looked back at him, seeing the confusion, worry, and a twinge of hurt in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Brett. I’m so sorry,” she said to him before turning to the driver. “Stop the sleigh!”
